{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140718043054/http://price.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=25&itemid=1588", "PRICE, LEAHY INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO HOLD AMERICAN CONTRACTORS OVERSEAS ACCOUNTABLE UNDER U.S. LAW", "2014-07-14", "2014", "2014-07", "Democrat", "House", "NC", "David Price", "P000523", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Congressman David Price (D-N.C.) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) renewed their partnership on bicameral legislation to provide accountability for American contractors and government employees working abroad. The Civilian Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (CEJA), which the lawmakers introduced Monday, would close a gap in current law and ensure that government employees and contractors working overseas can be prosecuted for criminal acts they commit abroad. The two lawmakers have worked together on the legislation for years. Similar legislation passed the House in 2007.\n\n\tThe legislation allows the U.S. Justice Department to prosecute government contractors and employees for certain crimes committed overseas. Tragedies like the 2007 killing of unarmed civilians in Baghdad by private security contractors with Blackwater underscore the need for clear jurisdiction and trained investigative and prosecutorial task forces able to hold wrongdoers accountable. Four Blackwater guards involved in the Nisour Square shooting are currently on trial.\n\n\t\u201cAlthough the number of American military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan has been reduced in recent years, our commitment to the rule of law has not, and closing the accountability gap for U.S. contractors operating overseas is more urgent than ever,\u201d Representative Price said. \u201cWe have seen the peril of allowing firms such as Blackwater to operate in a legal no-man\u2019s land\u2014a few bad actors can put our international relationships at risk and undermine the missions we ask our military and diplomatic personnel to complete. The bottom line is: if contractors working on behalf of the United States commit crimes abroad, DOJ should be able to prosecute them.\u201d\n\n\t\u201cThe Blackwater trial is only just now under way, seven years after this tragedy, and the defendants continue to argue in court that the U.S. government does not have jurisdiction to prosecute them,\u201d Senator Leahy said. \u201cThis bill would also provide greater protection to American victims of crime, as it would lead to more accountability for crimes committed by U.S. government contractors and employees against Americans working abroad.\u201d\n\n\tCEJA also lays the groundwork to expand U.S. preclearance operations in Canada \u2013 which would enhance national security and facilitate commerce and tourism with our largest trading partner. The United States currently stations U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers in select locations in Canada to inspect passengers and cargo bound for the United States before they leave Canada, and Leahy has long called for an expansion of land, rail, marine and air preclearance operations that would greatly benefit the U.S. economy. CEJA would ensure that the U.S. has legal authority to hold our own officials accountable if they engage in wrongdoing, and thereby help pave the way to finalizing the expanded Canada preclearance agreement.\n\n\tOther provisions in the Civilian Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act include:\n \n\t\n\t\tExpand criminal jurisdiction over certain crimes committed by United States employees and contractors overseas;\n\t\t\u00a0\n\t\n\t\tDirect the Justice Department to create new investigative task forces to investigate, arrest and prosecute contractors and employees who commit serious crimes overseas;\n\t\t\u00a0\n\t\n\t\tRequire the Attorney General to report annually to Congress about the offenses prosecuted under the statute and the use of new investigative resources\n \n\n\tThe text of the Civilian Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act is available online.\n\n\t# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140718043054/http://price.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=25&itemid=1588"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8318397924304008, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}